2019

Meet our Guest Speakers and Masterclass Tutors.

We attract an exciting range of interesting guest authors and industry experts to talk to you.

Chris Wakling
Chris Wakling
What Not to Write
Jackie Law
Guest speaker, Jackie Law
Book Blogging 101
Billy Kahora
Writer, Billy Kahora, guest speaker Novel Nights
Short Story collections
Maggie Gee
Maggie Gee
Maggie Gee in conversation
Tyler Keevil
11th May
Tyler Keevil
Masterclass on Place
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Michael Loveday
29th May 2019
Michael Loveday
Writing a novella in Flash Fiction
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Chris Wakling
15th June
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Masterclass: Dialogue and Scene Building
Juliet Pickering
24th June, Bath
Juliet Pickering
What does an author need to do?
Emma Smith Barton & Kesia Lupo
26th June, Bristol
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Writing YA & Publishing
Jane Corry
31st July
Jane Corry credit Justine Stoddart
How to write twists & take the reader by surprise
Caroline Ambrose
6th September, Bath
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Success in novel competitions
Vanessa Gebbie
28th September
Vanessa Gebbie
Masterclass: Flash Fiction
Susan Elkerkin
5th & 6th October
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Masterclass: Show Not Tell and Narrative ARc
Cynan Jones
19th October, Bristol
Cynan Jones
World Building with Cynan Jones
Ben Smith
21st October, Bristol
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Finding your story through landscape with Ben Smith
Tim Clare
6th November, Bath
Tim Clare
The Three Pillars of Writing Bliss
Susanna Wadeson
11th November, Bath
Susanna Wadeson, Publishing Director, Transworld
How to make your book stand out from the crowd
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Open Mic
2nd December, Exeter Phoenix
Open Mic, Exeter
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2018

Tom Vowler
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Success with Short Stories
Dr Mimi Thebo
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Memoir and fiction
Gerard Woodward
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Short stories and novels
Jon Woolcott, Little Toller Press
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The business of books
Gavin James Bower
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Scriptwriting
Sanjida Kay
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On how to plot
Tessa Hadley
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In conversation with Tessa Hadley
Tyler Keevil
Tyler Keevil
Music, Inspiration, and the muse
Emily Koch
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How to research for fiction
Kylie Fitzpatrick
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The First Novel
Alice Jolly
26th Sept 2018
Alice Jolly
Recovering Lost Voices
Lucy English
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Workshop: The Hero’s Journey
Nikesh Shukla
Bristol Festival of Literature
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Writing & Persistence
Xan Brooks
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Telling Other People’s Stories
Lucy English
Lucy-English-Author-talk
Poetry and the novel

2017

Susan Elderkin
29th November 2017
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Reading fiction
Dionne McCulloch
25th October 2017
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Ask The Editor, Cornerstones
Gilly Macmillan
18th September 2017
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Writing a page-turner
Dan Jeffries
24th July 2017
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DIY making a book
KM Elkes
19th June 2017
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Writing short fiction
Stephen May
31st May 2017
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Writing about family relationships
Martine McDonagh
31st May 2017
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Writing about family relationships
Richard Jones
26th April 2017
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The Independent publishing world
Tom Henry
29th March 2017
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Ghostwriting
Rosemary Dun
22nd February 2017
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Writing Romantic Comedy
Celia Brayfield
25th January 2017
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on Writing Historical Fiction

2016

Read 2016 Guest Speaker Biographies
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Dr Mimi Thebo
Finding Your Voice
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Tobias Jones
Inventing your own Language
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Sanjida Kay
on psychological thrillers
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Lucy Robinson
The road to publication
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Debbie Young
on marketing
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Dan Jeffries
on marketing
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A.A. Abbott
On marketing
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Babs Horton
On writing memoir
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Carrie Kania
Q and A with Carrie Kania, literary agent, Conville & Walsh
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2015

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C.L. Taylor
on genre and theme
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Juliet Pickering
Literary agent, Blake Friedman
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Mike Manson
on co-founding Bristol Short Story Prize
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Nikesh Shukla
on comedy & social media
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Kate Johnson
Literary Agent WolfLit
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Lu Hersey
on YA Fiction
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Stefan Mohamed
on YA Fiction
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Eugene Lambert
on YA Fiction
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Tania Hershman
on Short Stories
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Pat Ferguson
on Bristol Festival of Literature
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Gareth L Powell
on Noir / Sci-fi

2014

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Sanjida Kay
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Lucy English
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Alan Snow
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Helen Hart
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Nathan Filer
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Lily Forbes
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Anna Freeman
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Sarah Hilary
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Jane Shemilt
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Lu Hersey